UH scores another public backer for its trauma foray

Although MetroHealth and the regional trauma network it leads with the Cleveland Clinic aren’t too keen on University Hospitals’ plans to launch its own Level 1 trauma center, public officials are lining up in troves in support of the move.

The latest is Cleveland city councilman Mike Polensek, who represents Ward 8 on the northeast side of the city. Polensek has long-complained about the Clinic’s presence on the East Side, especially its decision to close its money-losing Huron Hospital. At last, he said, UH is filling in where he believes the Clinic and MetroHealth have neglected a community need. Late last month, Polensek sent strongly worded letters to MetroHealth CEO Dr. Akram Boutros and Dr. Jeffrey Claridge, a MetroHealth doc and medical director of the Northern Ohio Trauma System who penned an op-ed in the The Plain Dealer blasting UH’s trauma foray. In his letter to Claridge, Polensek asks, “Does ‘NOTS’ stand for ‘not on the east side?’ I hope that there can be some resolution here. I look at other cities in the state with multiple level one trauma care units and I don’t see their public officials, institutions and citizens complaining.” In his note to Boutros, he said he was “not here to fight with MetroHealth,” but said he was “troubled that MetroHealth now openly and privately is opposing the proposed Level One Trauma Unit at University Hospital.” He also noted, “Neither Cleveland Clinic nor MetroHealth stepped up to the plate to help us and as a result our citizens have been placed at great risk. I see this daily.” Other public officials who have come out in support of UH’s trauma push include U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, Cleveland city councilman Jeff Johnson, Cuyahoga County councilman Anthony Hairston, East Cleveland mayor Gary Norton, Euclid mayor Bill Cervenik and Shaker Heights fire chief Pat Sweeney. Curiously, Cuyahoga County executive Armond Budish’s office has been relatively quiet on the matter. Asked whether Budish supported UH’s efforts, a county spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement, “We are working with MetroHealth and University Hospitals to understand the impact of a second Level 1 trauma center in the city and how it may affect critical care outcomes in Cuyahoga County.” Cuyahoga County taxpayers subsidize MetroHealth’s operations, although the funding represents only a sliver of the health system’s overall enterprise. NOTS, meanwhile, has reported previously that the collaborative effort has reduced mortality rates in the region, even on the East Side of Cleveland where UH stresses there’s an absence of accessible trauma care. Boutros told Crain’s recently, “It took us decades of collaboration and teamwork to be able to get to this level of care. It is impossible to believe (UH) can do that from day one.”

This and that

• It’s a first: University Hospitals Case Medical Center said it is the first hospital in Ohio to implant a device designed to treat right ventricular heart disease.

The implant — known as Impella RP, made by Abiomed — allows the right side of the heart to recover without the upfront need for invasive surgery. The procedure, the hospital said, takes only about an hour. “It allows us to provide patients who were once untreatable with a new non-surgical option that serves as a bridge to transplant and/or recovery,” said Dr. Sahil Parikh, director of the UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute Center for Research and Innovation.” • These babies are #ALLinCLE: Members of the Cavs’ staff recently swung by the Clinic’s Fairview Hospital and delivered some newborns navy knit Cavs hats, “Born to be ALL IN” baby rally towels and Cavs Nation certificates. Babies in Cavs gear, I’m a sucker for ‘em.

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